Minneapolis Double Screening: Tiller and Forever

October 05, 2009

Words: Sai Schandorf

A cold and rainy Saturday night in Minneapolis made the Suburban Theater’s double doors look like the pearly gates, sans a scrutinizing St Peter, to shreds in desperate need of a snow fix. Despite the large, illuminated sign above the entrance that promised a big screen viewing of Monday Night Football and made no mention of snowboarding, a solid 200 of the faithful entered the temporary oasis of boardslides and beer. All were here for a double screening of Bald E-Gal productions’ Tiller and Forum’s Forever. Beer, along with liberally poured cocktails, became a key part of the night. Depending on who you asked, the planned start time was somewhere in the neighborhood of 6:30 or 7:30. Thanks to an overworked bar staff, no one seemed to care that the screen didn’t light up until 8.

Both videos were killer, but Tiller, which was shown first, got an extra dose of love from the crowd every time one of its many Twin Cities locations popped up. The local boys from Bald E-Gal productions had to be pleased. Anywhere else in the country, Forum’s Forever would have been the main show, but the audience left no doubt about what they came to see.

Anywhere else in the country, Forum’s Forever would have been the main show, but the audience left no doubt about what they came to see.

In between features, a video of Peter Line explaining Forum’s Chilly Dog camber was shown. For some, the image of Peter munching on a chili dog fresh off the floor combined with him saying "Chilly Daaaaaawg" in the same greasy voice used by 50’s porn stars when addressing (or undressing) young talent, might have ruined the chance of eating Sonic the Hedge Hogs favorite food ever again. If not, the chili dog eating contest did. Four eager contestants raced to the bottom of three chili dogs to earn a Forum snowboard with the aforementioned technology. The shred stick went to a slender young lady who crushed the competition, claimed her prize, and then calmly found a bathroom to puke.

By the time Forever took center stage, the theater was filled with a restless, intoxicated mass. Almost two and a half hours had gone by since the doors and brown bottles first opened. Midway through the film, "after party" became the phrase of choice. The area around the Suburban World Theatre was made for after parties. A bar can be found one block in any direction from the venue’s front steps and the rooftop bar at Stella’s Fish Cafe soon became swarmed with beanies and baggy clothes. However, not long after arriving, an airborne piece of poultry sent Forum’s Kevin Keller and half the Forum crew searching for a new bar. Who threw the chicken wing off the roof at Stella’s? The world may never know, but Keller definitely took most of the heat for it and in classy show of professionalism tipped the servers big, had a few choice words with a bouncer and moved on to friendlier terrain.

A few important lessons were learned from the Minneapolis premiere of Forever and Tiller:
1) Snowboarders have a sense of time akin to a 12 step program (i.e. better late than never).
2) Chewing with your mouth closed is for losers.
3) NEVER throw food off a roof top bar in Minneapolis.

Despite a late start and power happy security at the after party, it was a damn good night. The bottom line is, if you’re into a thing called snowboarding and like to ride rails, park, or powder, these two videos will satisfy your craving, with or without a plateful of chili dogs.